Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1887-02-16
HUNTING BRUIN.
How II Used to Be Done In Vir-
ginia.
Tho ycneraiion shown for n Rear Dog In
Oiden Timos-A Case Whore the
iiilc Was Tuleratcd-Bruin in
Court.


Rifle Was Toieratcd-Druin In
Court.
There be bears and bears" We are
familiar with the power and habits OF
the polar bear through Arctic voyagers,
and we have some notion of old Caleb,
the grizzly of the West, who can over
conc any animal in fight except the
true king of beasts, wild stallion. The
black bear of this country is not consid-
cred so terrible, though fiercer than the
brown bear of Europe, but he is an ugly
GU toner in II fight. He mainly feeds
on mast of which chcstnuts and beech
nuts make his favoritc diet, but he does
not Il sdain pork as change, and, like
his European cousin, he is passionatcly
fond of honey. He roams wild, what
there is left of him, through the mounA
tan ridges and spurs of West Virginia,
Eastern Tennessee and Kentucky, and
may be found sometimes in the adioin-
ing States. iicar- hunting is common
f,'rs from the hunting elsewhere i'm its
methods. and is less direct than among
the Arkansas canc-brakcs or north of
the federal line. Tho mountainocr
takes IN ungenerous advantage of the
brute, though his mode, should he not
have firm step, keen eye and Il
strong Grm, involves some personal
r;sk. Reduced to its proper shape, the
sport is bcar-baitng, with fatal result
TO the bear. They say that the Norwe-
Il II peasant meets the white bear face
10 face, and when he rises to his hind
lees Stabs INN TO the heart. / doubt
the story, but the man who attempted
H. treat the American bruin in that way
wnuld speedily find himself without
clothing, and would lose more flesh than
hc could we'll spare. In some places
they shoot the bear on sight. In West
Virginia, on a regular bcar-hunt, the
us" of rifle is for Jidden, for an evident
reason.
The Allegheny mountain range diff
fcrs materially from the Appalachian,
or Blue Ridge. Ii is not rocky back
bone. but huge elevated plateau, ON
parts of which may be found, beneath
The leaf mold, great beds of pebbles,
very like the shing!e of the sea-beach.
1t is broken by occasional gaps and
fr,ngcd by numerous spcers, irregularly
subd;v!dcd, whose narrow valleys
("bottOmS,' in the vernacular) are
threaded by innumcrable water courses,
that mainly make their way through
the Mississippi to tho gulf, portion
ONLY feeding streams that enter the At
lantc on the east. Except near the
larger streams, where the plundcring
w"odman s axe ha, had play, these
he gifts are well clad with trees, and a
man standing on summit ridge may
look upon pillows of foliage in an ocean
e ,crdnre extending until lost in the
stance. large portion of these trees
arc nut-bcari! g-chcstnuts on the rocky
tops, oaks and hickor,es on the slopes,
and walnuts and becchcs in the fertile
b tOm-lands. In particular sections
TIE trees produce n larger crop of mast
OH of years. and to these flock count
less hosts of wild p gcons, and with
ih1m the black bear, who, next to
honey, delights in chestnuts and beech
nuts, and. failing these, feeds raven
Ously on the bittcrcr acorns. On these
he feeds and fatlens to his hearts con-
tent. and then, when the winter sets in,
seeks the seclusou hollow tree or
small cave affords, and sleeps off the
@ 'ccts of his gluttony. At times, how
ever, a restless old hc-bear wandcrs all
winter. He is known as "traveler,"
and satisfies his hunger mainly on hog
meat. He thus becomes n nuisance to
br hunted down, not for sport, but as u
punishment for dccimating the herds of
sw'n".
Tie !untng, whether sport or not,
j. -;ncrHlly done with the aid of dogs.
TH,sc dogs are usually ours or mon
~ l., trained to the business. They
must not show too much pluck, or must
ripcr i with Il secretion. The ferocious
nid persistent bulldog is valueless here.
lie >cizcs the bear and will not let go.
j. uin embraces him with those terrible
"rin' of his, ami squcezes him to death.
tn" Dig of the vicinago, taught by
srp,c wounds, nipr his foe and at once
: go and retreats, while one of his
;.r.p~s repeats the process, always on
IL tank or rear. and so the pack keep
iru'u busy until the hunter, knife i'm
t." shoulder. This is always the OFF,
and not the near, shoulder, for on the
knife touch the gr al arm of the bear
on that side swings around rs though
hung upon II pivot, and the claws sweep
down with terrific force. II n lively
piece of work while It lasts. and IL usr-
ally l:tsts some time. The yelps of the
Digs. the growing Of the ear, and the
comments of thu hunters are exciting
ciniyh 10 fire the most used-up spccta-
ter. It w II be readily seen why the use
OF the rlic : prohibited. A dog might
lac ,aut in the struggle; and to kill q
tra ned bcar-dOg rs n crime among the
D. uUata Eccrs next in atrocity to horse
| stealing.
Nor is the sport without some danger
10 tho hunisman. When the bear j:
IN sud. If he hears The yelp of dogs or
h rack, he makes, il possible, for the
| tapg'od ''laurel-rougn, as the almost
impcuctrablc ,hickct of rhododendron.
that ~pread under the hemlocks in tho
swampy bottom istcrmcd. The stem:
and houghs of the rhododcnrons are
crooked and tough. and the gnarlcd
roots rise out of and above the black
soft peat Glow, requiring care to avoic
being trippcd up. Should one of those
projecting mantraps catch your feet
down YOU go, and, IL near the bear, the
animal is apt to turn his attention "a
You n a very feeling way. While the
bear and the dogs are lighting over sew
crel square yards of the thicket and tn,
hunter looking out for chance to ge